Boltin, "Cousin" Thelma - Miscellaneous black and white and color photographs (various sizes) of folk artist "Cousin" Thelma Boltin (c. 1980s). According to the FLORIDA MEMORY website: "Thelma Ann Boltin (1904 - 1992), affectionately known as 'Cousin' Thelma, was a storyteller, emcee, teacher and long-time director of the Florida Folk Festival. Her dedication to sharing Florida’s folk traditions brought diverse groups of artists to the festival each year, and established the festival’s reputation for celebrating unique and varied cultures. Born in South Carolina, she was raised in Gainesville and taught theater in schools and community centers..."

Spanning a period beginning with his genealogical roots in the late 19th Century and detailing the private and public life of "Florida's premier folklorist" from his birth until his passing in 1990, THE WILL McLEAN FLORIDA FOLK MUSIC COLLECTION consists of family history and photographs, handwritten song lyrics and poetry, promotional posters, handbills, brochures and programs, recordings (various formats), artifacts (his iconic black wool hat, harmonicas, a guitar, etc.) as well as correspondence between McLean and his family, musical collaborators and colleagues and his longtime companion and champion Margaret Mary Longhill. This fascinating research collection reveals a complicated, creative and eccentric activist who lived to sing the praises of his home and to bring attention to the history of Florida and the environmental damage that threatened the ecology of this beautiful and fragile landscape. The researcher will find a vast archive of primary source ephemera that chronicles the 20th Century Florida folk music world and the talented musical pioneers who paved the way for future artists who now entertain and inform at the many folk festivals across the state.